Past Stories, Present Feelings
by ncismka233
Summary: A week after Kate's death, Tony visits Gibbs in his basement. Both of them admit watching Kate die reminded them of painful memories from their past. Gibbs/Tony Father/Son


It was a dark and rainy night; just a week had passed since Kate was killed by Ari. Tony was in his apartment on the couch. He had been lying there since he got back from work. He lied there looking up at the ceiling while a movie was playing on his TV. Tony couldn't get the image of Kate lying dead in a pool of her own blood out of his head. Tony knew that feelings like this couldn't be easily suppressed. He needed someone to talk to and Tony knew exactly who would listen to him. It is a known fact that Gibbs never locks his door; so Tony walked down to his car and headed over to Gibbs house.

Gibbs was down in his basement, but not working on his boat. Instead he was looking at a photo that lay on his work bench. This photo consisted of him, an adorable little girl with her pulled back in a ponytail, and a beautiful red-headed woman. Only Gibbs knew who those people are. The little girl was his late daughter, Kelly and the red-head was his late wife, Shannon. They both died in a car crash in 1991, leaving Gibbs grief stricken. Gibbs had been thinking about them a lot since Kate's death. He wasn't very close with his father and didn't have anyone to lean on. Gibbs knows that he can't keep his feelings suppressed forever and didn't know who he could turn to that would listen. Gibbs thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door closing. He had an idea of who might have been paying him a visit.

When Gibbs saw Tony walk down the stairs, he turned the photo over. Tony lowered his head once he reached the bottom of the stairs. He slowly made his way over to Gibbs.

"You need to talk?" Gibbs asked. Tony looked up at Gibbs and asked,

"Do you have time?"

"It's Friday night DiNozzo, I'm not going anywhere." Gibbs said as he grabbed a chair that was next to his work bench. He adjusted the chair so it would face him. Gibbs saw that Tony was contemplating if it was okay for him to come over to his house. Gibbs nodded his head towards the chair and said to Tony,

"Sit, I got time." Tony walked to the chair and sat heavily down in to it. Tony wasn't talking so Gibbs tried to get him going.

"What's on your mind?" Gibbs asked. Tony looked Gibbs in the eye and said,

"I can't stop thinking about Kate."

"Yeah, me either." Gibbs admitted. Tony looked off to the side and said,

"You know that wasn't my first time witnessing the death of a loved one."

"You wanna talk about the first time you did?" Gibbs asked in a gentle tone.

"Kind of yes and no. It's hard to talk about." Tony replied. Gibbs looked at Tony and said,

"Tony you can tell me, it'll just be between us." Tony looked up at Gibbs then back off to the side.

"A lot of people know that my mom died when I was eight … but only I know what happened to her. She and I were driving home in the rain … she couldn't see where she was going, swiveled off the road and in to a tree. I was fine cause I was in the back." Tony started tearing up as he finished his story. "I got out of my seatbelt as fast as I could; when I saw her, she had blood all over her face and a branch was shoved in her head. I tried to wake her up but she wasn't breathing. After my mom died, my dad gave me the impression that he didn't give a crap about me." Gibbs was tearing up a little himself. "Watching Kate die right in front of me, brought back really painful memories." Gibbs blinked back his tears then said,

"Tony I lost my mom too, but my relationship with my dad is strained for another reason." Tony looked up at Gibbs and asked,

"You didn't kill one of your ex-wives did you?" Gibbs smiled as he grabbed the picture of his late family. He handed it to Tony and said,

"No one else can know about this, but I had a daughter with my first wife Shannon. I knew I couldn't suppress my feelings forever so I'm glad I have someone I can talk to." Tony looked up from the photo in to Gibbs eyes and asked,

"What happened to them?" Gibbs swallowed hard then took a breathe and said,

"They were killed when I was fighting in Desert Storm back in 91'. They were in the back of a car and their driver was shot by a sniper. They both died in the crash." Gibbs said as he looked to the side. Tony couldn't believe what his boss was telling him. As Gibbs started pouring bourbon for him and Tony, Tony said,

"I'm sorry, I lost my mom but I never thought of what my mom would've done if I died."

"I think about it all the time." Gibbs said as he handed Tony a glass of bourbon. Gibbs took a sip from his glass then asked,

"So you've been thinking about Kate a lot?"

"Yeah … I know I drove her crazy half the time but I loved her like a sister."

"She was like a daughter to me. Do you remember when we first met Kate?"

"How could I forget? Going all the way out to Nebraska to investigate a dead guy on a secret service plane is pretty memorable."

"Sure was." Gibbs said as he put his glass down. "All of my team is like family to me." Tony looked up from his glass and said,

"Me too. I also think of Ducky as my weird uncle." Gibbs smiled and said,

"Funny, he's like a brother to me." Tony looked at Gibbs and said,

"You know you're like the dad I never had." Gibbs looked Tony in the eye as Tony continued to talk. "You're there for me when I need help and you care if I live or die."

"Funny too, you're like a son to me." Gibbs said in a low tone. "Your sister was a great person and we're all gonna miss her." Tony smiled and asked,

"Does someone need a hug?" Gibbs smiled back at Tony and as he got up, Gibbs said,

"I think we both need one." Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder as Tony stood up. Tony didn't hesitate; he wrapped his arms around Gibbs and said with a lump in his throat,

"I'm gonna miss Kate." Gibbs pulled back, looked at Tony and said,

"Me too, kid." Tony teared up as he sat back down. "Well I guess I should go and leave you to sanding." Tony said as started to get up. He was stopped when Gibbs grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back in to the seat.

"Tony, I don't mind if you stay. Why don't you go get some sleep on the couch, I'll be down here for a while." Gibbs said. Tony looked at Gibbs and said,

"Thanks." Tony started to walk up the stairs, but then turned around said,

"And thanks for listening, boss."


End file.
